


Creature Case: Unholy Flames

by NilesTheArenaHyena



Series: The Mortal Guard [2]
Category: Fandom (Anthropomorphic), Original Work
Genre: Dark, Experimental, Intense, M/M, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Paranormal, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:26:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26036377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NilesTheArenaHyena/pseuds/NilesTheArenaHyena
Summary: Nick and Richard are tasked with helping a couple in which the husband has been acting strangely more aggressive and violent.
Relationships: Nicholas Flynn/Richard Seife
Series: The Mortal Guard [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1889908
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	Creature Case: Unholy Flames

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note: This is the first of hopefully a good amount of Creature Cases. Basically, they are separate from the main story of the Mortal Guard, while still being canon. I would not be able to write all of the individual missions they go on in the main story, as that needs to be focused and to a point, so I thought it would be fun to write little side stories set within the universe. It's great practice and also super fun to write and experiment with all kinds of different ideas.

**Creature Case: Unholy Flames**

The vivid colors of fire have always been one of the most beautiful sights the eyes can lay upon. The white core, the glowing oranges, and reds that dance in the reflection of the pupil, the way it enchants the mind and draws you in to watch the flames flicker. There was no doubt about it: Fire was mesmerizing.

But it’s also dangerous. It spreads quickly and turns anything in its path to dark ash and fills the lungs with toxic gray smoke that makes it hard to breathe. 

Nick stood, transfixed on the sight before him. It took him several seconds to process the fact that the grey wolf that had originally been in front of him had erupted into flames from within her own body, throwing balls of fire about the house and setting everything ablaze, the ceiling already being lined with smoke and the alarms blaring in the hyena’s ears.

He knew that this particular mission was going to be dangerous. When Richard had come to him with the case file, he had a choice whether he wanted to take it on, knowing full well it could get him killed. Richard strongly advised against it, but Nick being Nick, he took it anyway, thinking he might be able to help the folks involved.

Unholy Flames are a nightmare to deal with. It is unknown how they are formed, but the common theory is that anger built up over time forms the strange occurrence within one’s body. The issue is that this doesn’t explain the strange behavior of the flames, which completely latch onto the entire family it’s involved with. It starts relatively tame, with the Firestarter (the original victim) having random bouts of aggressiveness. From then on, they get angrier and angrier at the littlest things and from there it spirals into yelling, then violence, and finally they erupt into the very flames burning inside them, immediately resulting in death. The flames aren’t physical until the eruption phase.

But even before the Firestarter is killed, the other members of the family become aggressive just like they had and in most cases, the family becomes extremely dysfunctional, to the point of not even being able to stay in the same room as one another. Another result is that the victims don’t separate and end up killing each other in their rage, not even reaching the final stage where the flames release.

There’s only one cure for the Unholy Flames, which is that the victims must be kept in a very cold environment until the flames are extinguished, as any magic spells just make the fire stronger. It’s usually recommended that the victim be sedated and under close watch, as even the littlest thing could set them off at this point.

Knowing this, Nick still said yes, even though it had nothing to do with saving Boris. At least, he assumed. Luckily, the fire only affects the family, so he wasn’t in danger of it spreading to him.

He and Richard were given the case file. A grey wolf couple concerned about the husband, Kyle, who had been showing strange signs of aggressiveness out of nowhere, even though he used to be one of the kindest animals.

When told he should get therapy, he blatantly refused and left for a few days and when he came back, the wife, Michella, said his fur was hot to the touch, and that his temperature was higher than even a fever should be, though he said he felt fine. She consulted the neighbor for advice, seeing as he was a doctor.

Luckily for the duo, the neighbor was part of the Mortal Guard’s Medical Sect, which means the operation was set in motion. He met with the husband and found strong signs of there being Unholy Flames within him.

Knowing that the memory erasing procedure came at the end of the whole debacle, the doctor, Dr. Stanford, explained to the wife that it was a sickness that made you more aggressive as it went on. She didn’t learn that her husband could end up erupting into flames.

Having dealt with Unholy Flames once before, Stanford knew that Kyle would not be taken in easily and because he was part of the Medical Sect, didn’t have the skills to fight him. The Creature Hunting Sect was contacted.

Nick and Richard arrived at the house. By this point, there was room to be reckless, considering the Mortal Guard would erase the family’s memories at the end.

When the door opened, Michella was considerably confused, wondering how a 19-year-old boy could help in such a situation. Even so, after some talking, she let them in.

Kyle was sitting in a recliner and immediately, he was angry about his wife inviting strangers into their house. This turned into an argument that grew in intensity as it went on. At one point, Kyle tried to get violent with Michella and Richard had to grab him.

Kyle didn’t like this one bit, so he fought back against Richard, but Nick reminded him of the sensitiveness of the situation. The wolf was a ticking time bomb. They needed to sedate him, and fast.

Unfortunately, Kyle slipped out of his grasp rather easily and escaped. Knowing that it would be way too dangerous to let him out in public where he could harm someone or multiple people, the couple chased him by car, all the way...to a forest.

One of the first things Nick had learned in his creature hunting courses was that you can’t save everyone. Unfortunately, that was the case here.

Kyle was just beyond help at this point. No matter what Nick or Richard said, it just went through one ear and out the other, and as Kyle’s yelling got louder and his boss more wrinkled in anger, it became more apparent to the creature hunters that his time was nearing end and they had to step back.

Suddenly, true to the first victim’s nomenclature of Firestarter, Kyle burst into an explosion of Unholy Flames, the grass around his feet alighting and one of the fireballs made from the burst hitting a tree.

The fire spread fast...unusually fast, and it was clear to the two that these weren’t like other flames. They ran from the blaze as quickly as they could, as burning oranges of the disaster flashed all around them.

Richard contacted the Disaster Sect once they got back to the car and, even though the two were instructed to go to the Trauma Sect, the raccoon worried that Michella might be dangerous. They had to go back.

The moment they arrived, the female wolf was upon them, asking what happened to her husband. Where was he? What did they do? What did they do to him?

Richard and Nick felt stuck. How could they tell her what happened softly? Her spouse had just blown up and died a fiery death. Knowing the details of the case...Michella was at risk of this too.

But she pressed the two males on and on with questions about Kyle, growing more angry at their lack of any response. Finally, Nick, as slow and calmly as he could, explained the situation. 

Michella was understandably horrified, violently shaking her head and screaming that Nick was a liar, fleeing upstairs and claiming they killed her husband. The hyena followed her and confronted her in the hall, where she became even angrier, growling and swiping at him, becoming more desperate with each movement.

Nick stepped forward and she screamed and as she did so, her entire body erupted, just like her husband’s into flames.

Now, Nick was staring at the sight before him as the house was set ablaze. When Kyle had exploded, they were further away. Seeing it this close was just…

“Nick! Nick! Get out of there!” Richard called, snapping the young creature hunter out of his dazed stupor.

“Huh?” Nick shook his head as his flight mode engaged and he made his way quickly down the hall’s rug, finding it was loose too late and slipping, hitting the ground. “Agh!”

No, that’s good. He wanted to be close to the ground to avoid the smoke getting into his system. He crawled quickly toward the stairs as the roaring sound of the flames grew louder and louder, completely enveloping him in the nightmare that was occuring.

He made it to the stairs and was about to descend when he heard a familiar sound coming from a white door close to him. Was that…?

The hyena crawled forward, coughing as the temperature increased. He reached up and opened the door, his breath hitching as he gazed upon a crib, surrounded by a ring of flames. The wolf pup inside was crying out and squirming.

There was no time to even think. Nick stood on his feet, covering his nose with the crook of his arm as he ran forward through the flames, remembering that his pants and jacket were flame resistant.

Once inside the ring of fire, Nick rushed to the crib and reached inside, the baby wolf crying out even louder at this stranger touching him.

Nick wanted to tell the child that it would be okay and that he wasn’t going to hurt him, but he didn’t think there was any time to even talk. He needed go get out of there right away.

He ran back the way he came as the room fell apart, some of the floorboards falling in on themselves and a clack as they hit whatever was below. 

Suddenly, the ring of fire began to spin around Nick and the pup, and his eyes widened in horror as he tried to figure out a way out of this. Out of nowhere, a fireball launched from the ring at him and he just barely dodged it, falling to the floor again with the baby clutched to his chest.

The ceiling was black with smoke and he was sweating profusely as his mind became clouded as well. This didn’t feel like it was happening. His body felt like it was moving on its own.

Another fireball. Nick quickly leapt forward as it hit the crib, destroying it in an instant. The baby continued to cry. There was so much happening...so much…

The sound of ambulances? Was he just hearing things?

Another fireball.

Dodge.

Another.

He tumbled to the ground. 

Orange.

Hot.

Was he holding something?

He felt it.

Fireball.

Pain.

Screaming.

His own?

Burning…

What’s that smell?

_ Me. _

The hyena somehow got to his feet, even though he didn’t realize it. He didn’t feel anything but heat. Was he still holding onto the baby? He didn’t know.

Nick moved forward (was he moving?) to the hole in the wall that had been created by a fireball, digging into his pocket and pulling out a small capsule, which he crushed in his hand and tossed out of the hole, lightly.

Ring of fire? Ring of fire? Ring fire?

Where did it go?

Was it still spinning?

Any more fireballs?

Any more anything?

Something in his arms.

Turn around.

Orange.

Destruction.

Black.

Devastation.

Weightlessness.

Falling?

Nick awoke on gurney, looking up at the smoky sky. There was shouting and screaming and he sat up.

“Nick!” A familiar voice called, and his head turned. A chubby calico cat stood there, relief on his face, two little horns between his ears.

The hyena blinked. “Eli...What’s going on?”

“You were burned badly. You fell out of a hole in the house, but your drop cushion saved you. Normal firefighters were called to the scene, but they couldn't put out the fire, so the Disaster Sect was contacted. We’re currently still battling the forest fire that happened earlier today. As for this one…” The incubus gestured.

Nick’s head turned and where the house of Kyle and Michella used to be, there were only charred remains of what once was. The family’s home was ruined. “...”

“I healed you up with magic which returned you to your normal state, but as you know, you’ll have to go to the Trauma Sect after this. Especially now.”

Nick just nodded, then gasped. “What happened to the wolf pup I tried to save?!”

“He’s okay,” a deeper voice stated from his other side. He turned his head and Richard was there, holding the child, who was no longer crying.

“Rich…”

“I know what you’re going to say.”

“We failed, didn’t we?”

“Even if that may be the case,” Eli spoke up.“We’re still going to erase the memory of the folks around this area. Maybe get some new recruits. As for the burnt house...the disaster team is going to have to magically repair it. Dr. Stanford will make sure no one knows that anything ever happened here.”

Nick sighed. “I don’t understand what happened in there. I don’t remember anything after the wife erupted. All I can remember is how hot it was...It was like my mind was clouded with smoke.”

Richard thought for a moment. “I’m unsure, Nicholas. I was close to the front door at the time so I escaped rather quickly. Seeing you burnt and your fur singed like that was difficult, though. Thank goodness for healing magic.”

“Hm,” was all Nick responded with.

“Well! We have work to do,” Eli clapped his hand together. “You’ll be taken to the Trauma Sect shortly. Just wait a bit. I’m going to go help elsewhere. Bye, Nicky~” He wiggled his fat fingers as he turned and sauntered off.

The hyena sighed and turned to his partner. “Be honest with me.”

“Okay.”

“There wasn’t any way to succeed, was there?”

“...It’s hard to say. I think it was just too late in the game for us to save them.”

Nick looked down, thinking.

“But you did save their son.”

“Yeah...I guess so,” the hyena shrugged. Even though that was a good thing and he was happy to have done it, the thought of knowing the whole family was torn apart and that this baby would grow up an orphan tugged at his heartstrings. Then, a realization hit him.

His head turned to see Richard tickling the baby and his giggles made the hyena’s ear twitch. Nick just stared, dread filling his soul as the baby continued to laugh.


End file.
